Toddler and newborn at home. The toddler is constantly sick in the first year of school. In the last month in their class alone they’ve had cases of rsv, parainfluenza, strep, roseola, and now our kid has the flu.

They got the entire school together the morning after Thanksgiving break. This has made us question their precautions.

Is this amount of illness normal and what do others do with a newborn at home? Should we pull the toddler from school? Our newborn has been sick twice already.

It’s normal. As are all-school events. It’s a crummy part of the daycare process, but having done this all ways (daycare, SAHP, nanny), I think daycare is the best. You get socializing and a long-term benefit to their immune system. The kids who miss on daycare will make up the sick days when they start Kindergarten and get all the bugs then. I also found it way easier to handle taking a few days of craziness bc MY kid was home sick from daycare, vs random days of craziness bc our nanny would phone in sick.

As someone whose older two contracted C19 in Jan 22 when I had a 4 day old, I get it. It's incredibly difficult. Get help for the days you need it, Doordash what you can, and hunker down. The days can be hard AF.

I wouldn't (and didn't) pull my kids out of whatever program they are in.

It took us an entire year of being sick virtually the whole time before things got "normal". I think if we had a newborn I may have pulled our son, but we just suffered through it now to get it over with.

It sounds like you are almost through the first year, so I'm hoping you've made it through the worst of it! Good luck!

Yep - pretty normal the first year of school…once they get through that first year though, they rarely get sick. Daycare was tough like that, but so great for so many other reasons. Would absolutely go the same route if I had it to do over again

Unfortunately this is common. The winter time is the worst. Hopefully once you get a couple more illnesses, they'll become farer and fewer between. I remember feeling like we were ALWAYS sick when we had 2 under 2.

We have 3 kids under 5... this amount of sickness is part of life for us.

Echoing everyone else, yes it’s common and sucks. We have a 2.5 year old and a 10 mo old and both have had the flu, numerous colds, I suspect RSV, ear infections, and the worst was a pretty serious strain of HFM in the last few months since we started the older one in daycare.

I’ve taken the mindset of what someone else shared above — if not now or soon, then it’ll happen when they’re in school and absences really matter.

Sorry you’re going through this too :/.

This is so hard and I made the decision to pull our toddler due to the sickness. For me, being at home with both healthy kids was a better decision than being at home with two sick kids, which seemed like the alternative. Having a newborn and a toddler full time is hard though. Consider hiring some part time help if that is in your budget.

Is a nanny within your budget? We went that route because of the sickness factor and I can't imagine how hard it would be. Of course our little ones still get sick but it's not continuous and usual mild things, and a nanny still comes.

2.5yo toddler and planning another pregnancy soon. Everybody told us to stick it out in daycare and it would get better after a year. It did not. In fact, it got worse.

Our kid has fought off a lot of the outbreaks that have gone around (and there have been many.....multiple outbreaks each of strep, flu, covid, HFM, RSV, croup etc in addition to constant colds and stomach bugs). But she's still been sick so much.

Last month she was in the hospital for over a week with pneumonia and RSV. It was just the last straw for us. We decided to pull her out and my husband is going to stay home with her (misnomer because they are always gone doing fun activities and trips).

The larger context is that we're in a place where he is able to do this and was already thinking about it anyway. We'll probably end up doing a mother's day out or something for her to make friends and play with them. We're glad we pulled her and they're loving being together and going on all kinds of adventures.

Unfortunately, it’s common. The first season we had my newborn son in daycare along with my toddler, someone was sick from thanksgiving to valentines. Best I can offer is get your flu shot. instill good handwashing habits and, when babes get congested, put 2-3” of books under 1 end of the crib mattress to help get a better nights sleep.

Fortunately, it’s an immune system workout that will make them more resistant to future illness and, if you’re breastfeeding, your newborn is bolstered by your antibodies.

Hang in there!

Very normal. I pulled out my kids for a few years and then sent them back. Eventually it will normalize. Good luck.

I don't remember going through this with our kids. Maybe it's a neighborhood thing - where do you live?

I assume this is a problem in all developed countries but I’m not worldly, is it? I remember having to miss a week of work a month to stay home with sick kids. My husband would also miss a week and we had about 2 weeks a month our kids were healthy enough for school. It sucks but is completely normal in the US

I think it is the daycare as well. We have one through our church and personally my faith is important. From my non church based friends, I hear more dedication at mine. (A parent who asked a struggling one if they could help, their kids were sick often, mom needed to work). Community.

Yet also the staff are warmer. They seem more engaged with a faith mindset. Cleaning isn’t a chose for an employee. It’s a teachers daughter from the school. (All certified by State). The director’s father in law was a pastor etc.

That’s their why. Corporate daycares like offices. Won’t have it.